A total of 70 patients with ASA physical status 1 to 3, scheduled for elective bowel surgery by laparotomy and deemed suitable to receive either thoracic paravertebral or epidural analgesia will be included in the study. Recruitment will take place in the preoperative clinic. Written informed consent for the participation in the study will be obtained at the visit to the preadmission clinic or in the preparation area at least 2 hours prior to the surgery. They will be randomized to one of two groups prior to the block procedure using a closed envelope system. All patients will be educated regarding the VRS scores on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is no pain and 10 is the worst pain ever experienced. All patients will receive perioperative multimodal analgesia using naproxen, gabapentin and acetaminophen.